Although the Cook County News-Herald knows that the majority of sportsmen and women are law-abiding folks, there are a few that run afoul of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officers. Periodically, the DNR provides a report of some of the miscreants the Conservation Officers (CO) have encountered. The News-Herald shares these stories as a reminder to all to be safe and to follow the rules!
CO Thomas Wahlstrom (Grand Marais) spent time checking state parks and DNR campgrounds and buildings. A large influx of people from the Twin Cities and surrounding area flooded the state parks over the weekend. Very few people decided to buy a park pass. Wahlstrom assisted the county with crowd control during a structure fire in Grand Marais. Time was spent checking anglers along the North Shore tributaries. Enforcement action was taken for angling, ATV and state park violations.
CO Mary Manning (Hovland) assisted Cook County with a structure fire in downtown Grand Marais. Manning also worked a busy week checking anglers on Lake Superior’s shore and tributaries and checking areas closed to fishing. State park use was very high again over the weekend and compliance with permit purchase was improved. The majority of visitors to the North Shore are still from well outside the area.
CO Kylan Hill (Tofte) reports contacting multiple trout anglers during the past week. Most behaved, but a few were found to be in possession of marijuana. Fish were also finicky with temperatures still a little cold. State park vehicle passes were again hard to come by as people continue to enter the park without a permit. A few people were also contacted for camping violations. Even though they saw the signs stating the campgrounds were closed, they took the risk and ultimately received citations.
CO Keith Olson (Lake Superior Marine Unit) reports a busy week along the North Shore, with visitors enjoying area rivers, parks, trails and Lake Superior. Time was spent working Gooseberry and Jay Cooke state parks. Parking areas in both parks were at full capacity over the weekends. Violations included park permit issues and minor fishing violations on Lake Superior. Bears are awake and are out and about. Remember to take care on garbage nights.
CO Jim Guida (Brainerd East) patrolled area lakes and trails for activity. Turkey hunters were out in large numbers due to the availability of the new over-the-counter licenses. Some overcrowding was reported. Guida fielded a TIP call involving group of unlicensed anglers harvesting bass out of season. The violators were located and enforcement action was taken. The bass were located in the back of their pickup and safely returned to the water.
Contact local DNR Conservation Officers to report violations or ask questions:
Thomas Wahlstrom
218-370-0244
Kylan Hill
218-387-4393
Mary Manning
218-387-5285
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